Disneyland Hotel Review: Is the High Price Worth the Stay?
Updated 11/27/18. Disneyland Hotel is just a monorail ride away from Disneyland and steps away from Disney California Adventure Park – all accessible through the Downtown Disney District. The Disneyland Hotel’s location, prestige grounds, and hospitality make this hotel an excellent option for lodging when visiting Disneyland – if you are willing to pay the high price! Here is my full Disneyland hotel review.
My family and I have been lucky enough to stay at the Disneyland Hotel numerous times. My review of the Disneyland Hotel will hopefully help our MickeyVisit readers determine whether the high price tag to stay at this hotel is worth it.
Do I think staying at the Disneyland Hotel is worth the high price? Yes, I do! Read on to see why!
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Disneyland Hotel’s Prime Location
The location of the Disneyland Hotel allows for a quick entrance into Disneyland. This is one of the reasons why my family and I love staying here. The monorail is steps away from the Disneyland Hotel and is how we normally enter the Park. And when we are ready to take a much needed break (or nap) before hitting up the Disney nights, we are back at our hotel room in no time. Same goes for Disney California Adventure – a short walk through the Downtown Disney District gets you into and out of the Park quickly!
Disneyland Hotel Review
Read on for the full experience of staying at the Disneyland Resort Hotel!
Disneyland Hotel’s Check-In/Check-Out Process
Checking in to the Disneyland Hotel is quick and very easy! If you are driving in and arrive early, as we always do, Cast Members greet you at your car (if you drive all the way up to the front of the hotel).
Whether or not you choose self-park or take advantage of their valet services, Cast Members will help you unload and store your luggage so you can check-in and get into the Park quickly. You also have the option of simply parking in the parking lot, however, the Disneyland Hotel is more than happy to store your luggage for you safely! Of course, the Disneyland Hotel charges you $20 to self-park, per vehicle, per night and $30 valet per vehicle, per night. My family self-parks only after unloading all of our luggage with a Bell Hop Cast Member.
At the front desk, Cast Members are quick to move through the line of guests waiting to check-in. We never wait too long to start the check-in process. We are always able to check-in no matter how early we get to the hotel. On this particular trip, we arrived at 11am. Check-in is at 3pm. You will receive your room keys at this time, however, Cast Members will not give you your room number if the room is not ready.
But what I love is that my family and I can go play in the Park and we will get a text message alerting us what room number we have and that our room is ready! All we have to do is go straight to our room. It’s that easy! What’s nice is that our text message on this particular trip came at around 1pm so we didn’t have to wait until the actual check-in time of 3pm.
Each member of your family gets a room card with their name on it! What’s even better, you can use these cards to purchase merchandise in the Park (if you choose this option), which is then charged to your room! Don’t worry, though, your children’s room keys are just that – room keys. So you don’t have to worry about your kids charging anything to your room!
And speaking of kids, the Disneyland Hotel has an awesome waiting area in the lobby just for kids. A little TV plays Mickey cartoons to keep your kids occupied while you check-in.
Disneyland Hotel Lobby Children’s Area
Disneyland Hotel Lobby Tea Cup Chair
Disneyland Hotel Lobby Water Station
Check-out is as easy as just walking out of the hotel! Check-out time is 11am. For an additional charge and if available, you are able to extend your check-out time. On the day you check out, your hotel bill will be emailed to the email address on file. You keep your room keys as souvenirs! Of course, if you have any bills to settle, Cast Members will be happy to assist you at the Front Desk!
Disneyland Hotel Property
There are three towers that make up the Disneyland Hotel – Fantasy Tower, Adventure Tower, and the Frontier Tower. The Fantasy Tower is the tower where the lobby and gift shops are located.
Adventure Tower
The Adventure Tower is adjacent to the Downtown Disney District. Rooms on higher floors facing Downtown Disney have great views of the fireworks show. This tower also holds the luxurious E-Ticket Lounge (concierge lounge). For an additional cost, guests can enjoy additional amenities, such as breakfast, snacks, and other special treatment. It’s worth checking out!
Frontier Tower
Disneyland Hotel – Frontier Tower Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Replica
Disneyland Hotel Review: Our View from Frontier Tower. At night we were able to catch a glimpse of the Fireworks show from this room!
The Frontier Tower is directly across from the Fantasy Tower. My family and I have stayed in all three towers over the years, but the best tower, in my option, is the Adventure Tower because of the views of Downtown Disney and the pool.
Recreation at the Disneyland Hotel
- A Magical Night at the Movies
- Character Greetings
- Get Up & Go Power Walk
- Fitness Center
- Happiest Hotel on Earth Tour
- Island Time Evenings
- Pools
- E-Ticket Pool
- D-Ticket Pool
- Monorail Waterslides
- Poolside Cabanas
- Spa
- Trivia Challenges
Disneyland Hotel Review – Character Meet and Greet in the Lobby!
Disneyland Hotel Review – Goofy Wondering Around Lobby
What’s nice about the Disneyland Hotel is how you never know who you will bump into in the lobby. We bumped into Goofy, Chip, and Dale.
View of the pool and water slides
View of the pool
My family and I always take advantage of both pools and the water slides! When the weather is nice and we need a cool break from the sun, we head to these refreshing pools!
Even in the summer months the pools are big enough to accommodate a lot of swimmers, so you are not bumping into anyone and have space to swim around. The pool is four feet all around so there is no deep or shallow end. My husband and I also love lounging in the Mickey and Minnie hot tubs; however, they are always crowded!
Disneyland Hotel Amenities
- Downtown Disney District
- In-Room Celebrations
- Guest Services Desk
- High-Speed Wi-Fi
- Shopping
- AEDs/Automated External Defibrillators
- Disney Fantasia Shop
- small world Gifts
- Banking
- ATM
- Business Center
- Dry Cleaning
- Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
- Key to the Magic
- Laundry Room
- Meeting and Banquet Facilities
- Lost and Found
- Merchandise Delivery
- On-Site Parking
- Services for Guests with Disabilities
- Smoking Areas
- Room Service
My family took advantage of some of these amenities, which are actually conveniences. We used the free high-speed WiFi, visited the gift shops, took advantage of the merchandise delivery, ordered room service, and self-parked onsite.
What my family and I have noticed about Disneyland Hotel’s high-speed WiFi is that it is actually slow. My daughters and I go on our iPhones a lot and had difficulty loading pages.
Fantasia Gift Shop
Small World gift shop
The gift shops, located in the Fantasy Tower, are, of course, amazing! Fantasia has the usual souvenirs you will find around the Resort. small world Gifts is a tiny shop that sells necessities you may have forgotten at home like sunblock, bathing suits, flip flops. They also sell snacks, but everything is way over priced!
Merchandise delivery is actually pretty convenient. When at Disneyland, we purchased some souvenirs. The bag was big and bulky and we did not want to carry it around with us so we had the gift shop send it to the Disneyland Hotel. At no additional cost, we were able to pick up our souvenirs at the Bell Service desk after 7am the following day. It was really convenient!
My family ordered room service late one night after we left Disneyland. I have mixed feelings about room service at the Disneyland Hotel. First of all, the prices are outrageous! Not only that, guests are paying the usual taxes and service fees and gratuity is included. Now I don’t mind tipping where necessary, however, I feel that if it is already included in the bill, there should not be a place on the receipt that asks if you’d like to add an additional tip. I always feel guilty by not giving an additional tip, however, I feel that if gratuity is included, I shouldn’t have to tip more. Especially since I am paying so much for the food!
Portion sizes were very generous and they included tons of condiments. We did have to wait 45 minutes to receive our food which was not all that convenient.
Disneyland Hotel Review: Rooms
Inside of the hotel room
The rooms at the Disneyland Hotel are amazing! Touches of magic can be found everywhere around the room from the lamp in the bedroom to the light fixtures in the bathroom. And the headboard not only lights up, but it also plays “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” The tune stops playing, but the headboard stays lit until you turn it off. At night, a hidden Mickey can be found by looking at the lighted headboard reflection in the TV.
Disneyland Hotel Review – Light Up Headboard
Disneyland Hotel Review – Light Up Headboard with Lights Out
Mickey Lamp on Desk
Disneyland Hotel Bathroom
Disneyland Hotel Bathroom Light
Jungle Cruise Picture Hung in Bathroom
Disney Collage
The beds are very comfortable at the Disneyland Hotel and the room was well-kept. The only real problem we ever had is the lack of hot water sometimes when showering late at night.
Every room is equipped with:
- Air conditioning/heater
- Safe
- Mini- refrigerator
- Alarm
- Hair dryer
- Desk
- WiFi
- Coffee maker
- Phone
- Crib (by request)
Pathway to on-site restaurant
Disneyland Hotel Review: Onsite Restaurants
- Steakhouse 55
- Goofy’s Kitchen
- Tangaroa Terrace -Casual Island Dining
- Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar
Disneyland Hotel Review: Discounts
Long gone are the Annual Passholder Hotel Discounts. On occasion, Disneyland offers specials for as up to 25% off of select stays at each of the hotels of the resort, but these are normally during non-peak seasons during the week.
Grounds of the hotel
Final Thoughts and Disneyland Hotel Review
Pros of Staying at the Disneyland Hotel
- Proximity to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure – Getting to and from the Parks are easy and do not require that much walking. The monorail is right inside the gate, steps away from the Disneyland Hotel. To get to the front entrance of both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park, it is about a 5-10 minute walk.
- Magic Mornings – Guests staying at the Disneyland Resort have access to early mornings in each Park on designated days! Magic Mornings are so fun and super convenient.
- Cast Members are super friendly at the Disneyland Hotel. Yes, I’ve encountered some Cast Members who were not super friendly, but the majority of Cast Members are super friendly and willing to go above and beyond to make your stay magical!
- Check-In/Check-Out is fast, convenient, and easy. No matter what time you arrive, you are able to check-in and store your bags. Of course, you will not get your room until later in the day, but if you are going into the Park or simply walking Downtown Disney, you are able to without worrying about the hassle that comes with checking-in. And Check out is super easy and convenient!
- Key to the Magic Cards are a fun perk. I mean, who doesn’t like to charge things back to their room!
- Clean – The Disneyland Hotel is kept immaculate! Not only are the rooms clean, but the grounds are well-maintained and the gardens are beautiful year-round.
- Comfortable beds – I have to say that the beds at the Disneyland Hotel are comfortable!
- Housekeeping friendly and thorough – Housekeeping does a good job of cleaning your room in a timely manner, which is always a good thing when you leave to go into the Park early and come back by early afternoon to a clean room!
- Safe – The Disneyland Hotel, for me, feels safe. I always notice security riding around on their bikes. This is a big thing for me and is always the first thing I look for when traveling.
- Refrigerator in rooms are convenient. My family and I always bring back sweets or left-overs so the refrigerator in the room is a nice perk.
Cons for Staying at the Disneyland Hotel
- High Price to Stay at the Disneyland Hotel – As much as I love to stay at the Disneyland Hotel, the price is super expensive. The nightly cost to stay at the Disneyland Hotel starts at $418, per night, plus tax, and all the other fees that come along with it. The cost changes nightly and is dependent on days of the weeks, special events, and seasons.
- Room Service is extremely expensive and the food is just okay. There really is no convenient, affordable dining (like a McDonald’s) near the Disneyland Hotel, so guests have no other choice but to eat at a restaurant onsite or order room service.
- WiFi – Disneyland’s high-speed WiFi is not all that high speed.
- Showers – Forget a late night shower because sometimes the water runs cold.
- Expensive – Simply put – everything cost more while staying at the Disneyland Hotel!
Weighing the pros and cons of staying at the Disneyland Hotel, I have to say that I really do feel that the high price to stay there is well worth it. Every chance we get, my family and I choose to stay here.
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